SEATTLE, Wash. | On a night when the Florida A&M University men's basketball team shot 55 percent from the floor in the first half, the Rattlers earned their first win, a 71-57 victory over Seattle on Saturday night at the Redhawk Center.
 
Florida A&M (1-9) led by as many as 15 points in the first half and took a 36-24 advantage into the break. The Rattlers outscored the Redhawks in the second half, 35-33, to cruise to their first win.
 
Rod Melton, Jr. paced four Rattler players in double figures with 17 points, on 6-of-11 shooting and 3-of-5 from behind the 3-point line, along with four rebounds and two assists. MJ Randolph finished with 16 points, on 6-of-7 shooting, with a team-high eight boards, four assists, two steals and one block, while DJ Jones chipped in with 12 points, eight rebounds, two blocks and one assist. Brendon Myles came off the bench to provide 11 points, on 4-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-3 from behind the 3-point line. 
 
Terrell Brown led Seattle with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists. Riley Grigsby registered 15 points, four boards, two steals, one block and one assist, while Morgan Means chipped in 10 points, four rebounds, one steal and one assist.
 
How It Happened
Florida A&M grabbed an early 10-6 advantage after a bucket by MJ Randolph with 15:59 remaining, but Seattle closed the gap to 10-9 after a 3-pointer by Morgan Means on its next offensive possession.
 
The Rattlers turned that one-point lead into a 13-point advantage with a 12-0 run, capped by a Brendon Myles jumper with 12:26 remaining in the first half.
 
FAMU stretched the margin to 26-12 after a layup from Randolph with just under nine minutes left, but the Redhawks cut the deficit to 26-16 when Terrell Brown scored on a layup with 7:03 remaining.
 
The Rattlers, who shot 55 percent (16-of-29) from the floor in the first half, took the largest lead of the half on a jumper by Nasir Core, giving FAMU a 36-21 lead, with 56 seconds remaining, but a 3-pointer by Means cut the margin to 36-24 at the half.
 
A layup by Riley Grigsby cut the FAMU lead to 39-28 with just under 18 minutes to play, but a 3-pointer by Myles pushed the margin back to 15 at 46-31 with 15:15 remaining.
 
The Rattlers continued to extend the lead as Rod Melton, Jr. drained a 3-pointer to give FAMU a 60-43 advantage with just over eight minutes left.
 
The Redhawks (6-7), who dropped just their second home game of the season on Saturday against the Rattlers, never got any closer than 13 points during the final four minutes.
 
Inside the Numbers
> Florida A&M shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) from the floor and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) from the charity stripe
> Seattle was 22-of-62 (35.5 percent) from the field and 9-of-16 (56.3 percent) from the foul line
> FAMU registered 37 rebounds, including 30 on the defensive glass
> SU pulled down 24 rebounds, with 16 coming on the defensive end
> The Rattlers finished with 22 points in the paint, 19 bench points, 13 fastbreak points, 12 points off nine SU turnovers and eight second-chance points
> The Redhawks recorded 34 points in the paint, 11 bench points, 10 points off 16 FAMU turnovers and 10 second-chance points
 
News and Notes
> Florida A&M has faced two nationally-ranked programs so far this season – #10 Seton Hall and No. 21 Tennessee
> The game against the Cougars on Thursday marked the fourth against a Power 5 opponent as the Rattlers will also take on Power 5 opponent and Iowa State on Dec. 31
> The Rattlers are in the midst of a season-opening 13-game road swing
> FAMU's first home game comes on Jan. 11, 2020 against MEAC opponent Morgan State
> Florida A&M has travelled a total of 17,669 miles to begin the season and will add another 2,821 miles with the return trip back home to Tallahassee on Sunday.
 
Up Next
Florida A&M will take 10 days off before making its final non-conference road trip of the season on Dec. 31 as the Rattlers visit Iowa State. Tip-off against the Cyclones is set for 7 p.m. (eastern).
 
Follow Florida A&M Athletics
For complete coverage of Florida A&M athletics, please follow the Rattlers on social media at @FAMUAthletics (Twitter), /FAMUAth (Facebook), @famuathletics (Instagram) or visit the official home of Florida A&M Athletics at famuathletics.com.